# Are there any streets with names containing all four cardinal points? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501 "2016-01-28T16:05:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/21 "2016-01-29T03:05:15Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > That’s pretty cool. For all the talk of so and so’s post “wins this thread” I think, unless a dark horse arrives, this one deserves to be on your mantelpiece. > > Ignorance fought. “Ignorance” redefined, also, which is a extra prize special to a certain kind of good SD threads. Here’s a bonus. Zoom in a few clicks and look about 327’ to the northwest. That’s right. Southeast Circle NW runs right into Northeast Circle SW.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/22 "2016-01-29T03:17:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Best I can come up with offhand is East I-35 North (and South) and West I-35 North (and South) in Minneapolis. Well, I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W, and they both have a North and a South, but no one (except one of the GPS programs on my phone, and it’s very jarring to hear and we make fun of it) says “I-35 East North”. It’s “I-35E North”. The E is just an E. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/23 "2016-01-29T18:05:05Z")
I seem to recall that Wacker (?) Avenue in Chicago is designated with all 4 compass points, AND an Upper and a Lower. Any Windy City Dopers out there to say yea or nay? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/24 "2016-01-29T19:00:12Z")
Has anyone found one that uses synonyms for some of the cardinal points? E.g. is there a “N Occidental Drive SE” or a “South Austria Street NW”? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/25 "2016-01-29T19:04:01Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > I seem to recall that Wacker (?) Avenue in Chicago is designated with all 4 compass points, AND an Upper and a Lower. Any Windy City Dopers out there to say yea or nay? Yes, there are parts of Wacker Drive that are either north Wacker, south Wacker, east Wacker, or west Wacker, and there is an upper and a lower (and even a Lower lower in one part, although I’m not sure if that’s the official name for it or not, but Wacker has three levels just east of Michigan Avenue.) ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/26 "2016-01-29T19:07:53Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > I seem to recall that Wacker (?) Avenue in Chicago is designated with all 4 compass points, AND an Upper and a Lower. Any Windy City Dopers out there to say yea or nay? This is true. If you start on Wacker Drive by the lake, you’re on East Wacker. Go west and when you cross State, you’re on West Wacker. Keep going west and it’ll curve south past Franklin, and now you’re on North Wacker. Keep going and once you cross Madison, you’re on South Wacker. There is also an Upper (local) and Lower (express, more or less) component to Wacker throughout most of its length. There is also, for a short stretch, a Lower Lower Wacker Drive. There’s not much down there other than some loading docks and, fairly infamously, the downtown auto pound. You can see [all three levels at once on Street View](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8876369,-87.6195769,3a,75y,315.74h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCRi4Yoxkg3Gv6iJucu15jg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656), but I don’t think Lower Lower Wacker has any Street View images. (Both Lower and Upper Wacker do, though, which confuses Google Maps to no end if you try to click around; you’ll bounce seemingly randomly between the two.) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/27 "2016-01-29T19:10:03Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Here’s a bonus. Zoom in a few clicks and look about 327’ to the northwest. > > That’s right. Southeast Circle NW runs right into Northeast Circle SW.😃 Now you’re just gloating … ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/28 "2016-01-29T19:36:08Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > This is true. If you start on Wacker Drive by the lake, you’re on East Wacker. Go west and when you cross State, you’re on West Wacker. Keep going west and it’ll curve south past Franklin, and now you’re on North Wacker. Keep going and once you cross Madison, you’re on South Wacker. There is also an Upper (local) and Lower (express, more or less) component to Wacker throughout most of its length. > > There is also, for a short stretch, a Lower Lower Wacker Drive. There’s not much down there other than some loading docks and, fairly infamously, the downtown auto pound. You can see [all three levels at once on Street View](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8876369,-87.6195769,3a,75y,315.74h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCRi4Yoxkg3Gv6iJucu15jg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656), but I don’t think Lower Lower Wacker has any Street View images. (Both Lower and Upper Wacker do, though, which confuses Google Maps to no end if you try to click around; you’ll bounce seemingly randomly between the two.) Huh. I coulda sworn you could access lower lower Wacker on street view through Google Maps via Field Blvd [here](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8871038,-87.6174394,3a,60y,9.19h,86.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKERlbky8MihYkXi4RUDLoQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DKERlbky8MihYkXi4RUDLoQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D95.5904%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656), but it warps you up a level if you try to enter. Weird. I could swear I’ve done this before on street view. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/29 "2016-01-29T21:32:48Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Found one ![Southeast Circle NW in Albuquerque](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Southeast+Cir+NW,+Albuquerque,+NM+87104/@35.1012814,-106.6740042,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x8722732bbfe3a05d:0x53f2107ccb688bfd?hl=en). Great job **kunilou**! How did you find it? Do you suppose the residents there ever get the right mail? If I were the post man there, I’d throw it in a big pile in the middle and let the developer who named those streets sort it out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/30 "2016-01-29T23:21:19Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Pennsylvania Avenue goes SE to NW and therefore has SE and NW designations depending on what quadrant of the city you are in. The White House is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. If you want to visit the POTUS and go to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, you’re going to have a bad time. OTOH, if after partying late at night you’re trying to visit your friends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE and accidentally find yourself drunkenly pounding on the door at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, you’ll probably have a \*really \*bad time. Some folks just have \*no \*sense of humor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/31 "2016-01-30T00:13:20Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Found one ![Southeast Circle NW in Albuquerque](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Southeast+Cir+NW,+Albuquerque,+NM+87104/@35.1012814,-106.6740042,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x8722732bbfe3a05d:0x53f2107ccb688bfd?hl=en). So there’s at least one! Thanks. > [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Do you suppose the residents there ever get the right mail? When I lived in the desert, lettered streets were a mile apart and ran East-and-West. Between them, the streets would be [letter]-[number] ascending from the north. Additionally, the streets were on the east side of town and the west side of town, divided by a North-South street called Division. So you might have 2542 West Avenue L-12, usually abbreviated 2542 W Ave L-12. But if you ordered something in the mail, as often as not the shipper would assume you were on West Avenue, apartment L-12 or W Avenue, apartment L-12. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/32 "2016-01-30T01:23:58Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Now you’re just gloating … What’s SD policy on spiking the intellectual football? ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/33 "2016-01-30T06:03:18Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > A couple more with three: > > NW South Road > NW East Road > > Both in suburban Portland. There’s also a NW West Rd and a NW North Rd in the same area to complete the set. I used to live on SW North Dakota in Beaverton. There’s also a NW West Union here, but no NE counterpart (everything here is NW or SW). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501/34 "2016-02-05T01:29:36Z")
OK, now we’re mentioned on the Map site **[Twelve Mile Circle](http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/barton-swinging/)** for **kunilou** ’s discovery. Huzzah! > [@](#): > > Completely Unrelated > > Reader “Qadgop the Mercotan” sent an email message to 12MC recently, referencing a conversation on the Straight Dope Message Board under the intriguing title, “Are there any streets with names containing all four cardinal points?” One of the participants on that board, **kunilou** , discovered a street that met the criteria: Southeast Circle NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it appeared to run into Northeast Circle SW! (map). Many thanks to Qadgop the Mercotan for passing that along. [sub]it’s at the bottom of the “Barton Swing” topic[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-streets-with-names-containing-all-four-cardinal-points/744501.md?page=1)